Collection inventory

Samuel Hooper Collection

An inventory of his
collection at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator:

Hooper, Samuel, 1808-1875.

Title:

Samuel Hooper Collection

Dates:

1856-1874

Quantity:

21 items (SC)

Abstract:

Papers of the American merchant, legislator from Massachusetts. Twenty items of outgoing
correspondence about politics (Schuyler Colfax), interpretation of the usury law (Nahum
Capen), as well as social invitations (Adam Badeau, Benjamin Perley Poore) and a letter
of introduction (Charles Sumner).

Biographical History

Samuel Hooper (1808-1875) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative
from 1861-1875.

Samuel Hooper was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts on February 3, 1808. In 1832 Hooper
married Anne Sturgis whose father owned a shipping firm. Hooper worked at his father-in-law's
firm as a junior partner, gradually expanding his interests, eventually shifting into
the iron business. In 1850, he was elected to the State House of Representatives.
Hooper served as a representative from 1851-1853. He attended the Republican National
Convention in 1860 as a delegate from Massachusetts. Hooper was elected to fill the
vacancy left by William Appleton in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1861 and
continued to hold a position in Congress from 1861 to 1875. While in Congress, Hooper
was a chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and served on the Committee on
Banking and Currency and the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures at various
points. Hooper's daughter, Alice Mason Hooper, married Charles Sumner in 1866, making
Hooper Sumner's father-in-law; however, the marriage was short-lived. Hooper died
on February 14, 1875 while still in office.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The
Samuel Hooper Collection is a group of 20 items of Outgoing Correspondence written between 1856 and 1874, and a single Miscellaneous item, all of which relate to the U.S. congressional representative and senator from
Massachusetts.

The Correspondence includes discussions about politics (Schuyler Colfax) and the interpretation of the
usury laws (Nahum Capen) as well as social invitations (Mr. Anthony Adam Badeau, Benjamin
Perley Poore) and a letter of introduction (Charles Sumner). The correspondence includes
a series of three letters written in October of 1865 to Schuyler Colfax about Nathaniel
Prentiss Banks who, upon returning from military duty after the Civil War, was nominated
to run for the House of Representatives from Massachusetts (12 Oct 1865):

Talking with Sumner about Banks's nomination, last evening, Sumner said it was the
greatest personal triumph a man ever had in Massts. - to come back here as he did
into a district that seemed to be already disposed of - and in two weeks to be taken
up and nominated over all the competitors.

Reassuring Colfax that the remarkable Banks had no intention of challenging the incumbent
for leadership of the House, Hooper writes (13 Oct 1865):

...he will not be a candidate for the Speakership, and as I have said before, I am
sure he will not be in your way, but on the contrary will cordially cooperate with
your friends to secure your election.

The Miscellaneous series contains a printed letter from Benjamin Perley Poore, in his capacity as Clerk
of Printing Records, to which is affixed a proof of the Hooper entry (with holograph
additions) for inclusion in the
Congressional Directory.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection contains two series:
Correspondence, which is arranged chronologically, and
Miscellany. An alphabetical Index to the Correspondence is located at the end of the finding aid.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require
advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance
concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before
publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.